64 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD 



When a field has been set out with stakes repre- 

 senting the points at which the trees must be 

 planted, it is necessary to use a planting-board for 

 getting the trees in the exact positions of the stakes. 

 This convenience has been so frequently described 

 that it hardly needs to be referred to again. The 

 planting-board or tree-jack consists of a light, 

 strong board about 4 feet long and 4 inches wide cut 

 with a notch in either end and a third notch exactly 

 in the middle. 



In use this tree-jack is laid on the ground with the 

 middle notch set upon the peg which marks the posi- 

 tion of the prospective tree. Two light stakes are 

 then driven in the notches at the end of the plant- 

 ing-board, after which the board may be taken to 

 the next peg and the transaction repeated. After 

 these end stakes are set the hole for the tree may 

 be dug, the center peg being taken up and thrown to 

 one side. After the hole has been dug large enough 

 for the roots, the tree may be placed precisely in 

 its correct position by bringing back the planting- 

 board, placing it on the two end pegs in its former 

 position, and holding the stem of the little tree 

 firmly in the center notch while the roots are cov- 

 ered and trodden down. This method sounds a lit- 

 tle bit complicated, but can be used rapidly in the 

 field by experienced workmen. 



HANDLING TREES 



The trees are taken from the bundles and pruned. 

 This pruning consists in removing all broken roots 

 and in cutting back the tops. The most common 

 practice nowadays, and the one by all means best, 

 is to prune each tree top to a whip or a stub. All 

 side branches are removed and the main stem is cut 



